Teachers say they're the ones being left behind

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer

Education reform has been the most significant public-policy issue in Hawai'i this year but, somehow, many teachers feel left out.

"I do not feel valued," said Georgiana Caravalho, a fifth-grade teacher at Kohala Elementary School on the Big Island. "I don't think they have respect for us.

"They're not in the classroom," she said of politicians. "They don't know what we go through. Yet they make decisions about education for us."

At the Hawai'i State Teachers Association's annual conference yesterday at the Sheraton Waikiki, several teachers talked about their frustration, and union leaders described morale as troubling, as teachers believe there is a gap between the political talk about education and the state and federal government's investment in money and resources.

"It sounds like we're saying it's about money, but it's more about respect," said Gail Kono, a fifth-grade teacher at Kalei'opu'u Elementary School in Waipahu. "We're hoping that this year is different, but we've gone through this so many times."

The 13,000-member teachers union and the state remain apart in salary talks, but state lawmakers did include new money for teachers in the state budget sent to Gov. Linda Lingle on Thursday. Lingle has criticized the budget, including money for raises for government workers, but has not yet said whether she will veto.

Teachers have asked for about a 5 percent pay raise in each of the next two fiscal years, while the latest offer from the state is a 4.1 percent raise next fiscal year.

Roger Takabayashi, president of the teachers' union, said the state needs to offer a contract that will help attract and retain quality teachers. He said the state Department of Education has to hire about 1,350 teachers each school year because of turnover and retirement.

The state's high cost of living has been a hurdle. Starting teachers make $34,294 a year, according to the union, with the average teacher salary at $45,167.

"She has to show her commitment to teachers and public education," Takabayashi said of the governor, whose proposal to break up the central DOE into local school districts with elected boards has likely failed in the Legislature. "It's not about school governance. It's about getting high-quality teachers into the classroom."

Ted Hong, the state's chief labor negotiator, said he is optimistic the two sides can reach agreement. He said representatives from the governor's office, the state schools superintendent and the state Board of Education will meet early this week to discuss alternatives to bring back to the teachers' union.

"The question is, 'How much can we afford to pay?' " Hong said.

But Hong also said that teachers should not equate money and respect. "Respect isn't all about how much you're being paid," he said.

The education-reform package lawmakers sent to Lingle includes new money for math textbooks and smaller class sizes and incentives for teachers to earn national board certification. But many teachers question whether the overall support is enough to meet the performance standards under the federal No Child Left Behind law, which places sanctions on schools that fail to meet annual goals toward having all students proficient in core subjects by 2014.

Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, who is attending the Hawai'i conference, said people across the country are starting to see the drawbacks in the law. "They don't give us the support. They don't give us the supplies. They don't give us the salaries," he said. "Then they expect us to perform miracles."

But President Bush has said the law is adequately funded and, in Hawai'i, Lingle has said that the issue at schools is not money, but the structure of the central, statewide system.

Lester Kunimitsu, who teaches technology and agriculture classes at Baldwin High School on Maui, said it is unrealistic to expect student performance to improve without a substantial, long-term commitment to increase teacher salaries and spending on education.

"I think teachers are tired and disappointed," he said. "They're tired of being criticized."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.